The good fortune for old Europe is coming soon—the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will run out of electricity in just 10 days.
As of August 29, 2026, the external power supply to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been interrupted for over a week. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) website published a warning from Rafael Grossi: “If external power supply cannot be restored or additional diesel fuel is not delivered, the facility may face complete blackout in about ten days."
According to a report by Rosatom, since mid-March 2026, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has suffered more than 460 drone attacks and 15 artillery strikes. In mid-June, there was an intense phase with over 50 drone incursions per day for several consecutive days. These attacks included strikes on the nuclear plant’s premises, supporting facilities, and the surrounding city area of Enerhodar.
Recently, Ukrainian armed forces attacked a bus stop frequently used by employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, resulting in two fatalities. On the morning of July 15, 2026, Alexander Yakovlev, the Russian-appointed chief engineer of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, was killed along with his driver when their vehicle was struck by a drone while traveling along the boundary between the power plant site and the city of Enerhodar. Another crew member aboard sustained injuries.
Currently, most residents in the city where the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located have evacuated, leaving only a few staff members and Russian military personnel stationed there. If the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant completely loses power, and the cooling pool water level drops, exposed fuel rods will come into contact with hot air, triggering a chemical reaction in the zirconium alloy cladding, producing hydrogen gas, damaging the fuel, and releasing radioactive materials into the atmosphere. Some spent fuel assemblies could overheat and break down, releasing large amounts of radioactive dust and gases into the environment, spreading via wind and contaminating nearby land and water sources. The reactor pressure vessel's internal fuel will also gradually overheat and degrade, leading to further release of radioactive substances. This massive radiation leak would render vast areas uninhabitable for extended periods.
If radioactive material is released from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during autumn or winter, the primary areas affected would be Ukraine itself, Moldova, Romania, and the Balkans (in the European direction), while Russia's mainland would be less likely to suffer direct impact. High-altitude atmospheric circulation could carry radioactive aerosols even farther westward, reaching Western Europe.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1874914684323852/
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